Leadership

Scott Birne | Managing Partner

Scott is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Hornet Real Estate. He is responsible for all components of the firm’s success, including but not limited to identification of investment opportunities, transaction execution, capital formation, management, and eventual disposition.

Scott has principally served as an Executive Director on the Real Estate Americas platform within J.P. Morgan Asset Management, a leading real estate investment management firm with approximately $80 billion under management. As an Acquisitions Officer and Principal overseeing the Texas, Mountain West, and Midwest regions, Scott led new acquisition and development sourcing on behalf of open-end, closed-end, and separate account investment vehicles comprised of either institutional or private high net worth investors. 

With national experience spanning various asset classes across the risk/return spectrum, Scott has led or assisted on nearly $4 billion in new direct investments. Scott graduated Phi Beta Kappa with High Honors and with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Certificate in Business Foundations from the University of Texas at Austin.

Max Zeff | Managing Partner

Max is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Hornet Real Estate. He is also the Founder and CEO of Kalonymus, a multifamily developer/operator with over $150M in committed and acquired investments. Max drives value through an obsessive pursuit for improvement across departments and strategies. He brings a generational perspective to real estate investment, development, tax efficiency and risk mitigation.

Prior to founding Kalonymus, Max spent seven years working at Carmel Partners. His responsibilities included sourcing, acquisitions, obtaining entitlements and development in Southern California after a brief stint in the New York office. Max facilitated the capitalization of over $850M in transactions resulting in more than 1,150 apartment and condo units, 100,000 SF of office, and 47,500 SF of retail/restaurant.

Mr. Zeff received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles. He is the President and Chair of the Board of Directors for the Abbot Kinney Festival Association, a 501(c)(3) grant making organization that supports community-based organizations and causes in West LA with an emphasis on youth, education, community, and the arts.